The Sixth Annual Freedom Online Conference
opens today in Escazú full of contradictions.

One of the principal supporters is the United
States, one of 30 members of the sponsor,
the Freedom Online Coalition, yet that
country is engaged on massive spying on its
own citizens and seeks to prosecute a major
advocate of online freedom, Julian Assange of
Wikileaks.

Costa Rica, another member of the coalition is
prosecuting a Florida resident for his
truthful and sexy stories that violate a
national law forbidding calling the country a
sex tourism paradise.

The coalition, as is A.M. Costa Rica, says it
is devoted to the idea that online users are
interested in political news and an informed
citizenry is a crucial element to democracy.
Yet statistics show that most online activity
is personal, recreational and even
pornographic.

The same studies do show that citizens who
used the internet for news and political
information were more likely to express
greater criticism about their country’s
autocratic political institutions and leaders
but that those who spent more of their online
time engaging with entertainment content were
more satisfied with living under autocratic
conditions.

Increasingly the internet also is being filled
with false stories which sometimes are
designed to incriminate public figures.
In fact, a recent study by journalists showed
that Facebook is quick to pick up and mark as
trending fake news stories because the company
has fired its editors and relies on
technicians.

One fake story picked up by a number of
pro-Trump sites claimed falsely that
Hillary Clinton had an affair with Yoko Ono?

Of course, many internet users are justifiably
suspicious when governments get together to
talk about online freedom. The Barack Obama
administration is the most current U.S.
government to closely guard its secrets, as
Assange has shown.

Costa Rican government officials hire armies
of so-called journalists to report good news
from their various agencies. Consequently, the
local public does not get a clear view of the
state of the economy, criminality or even
presidential trips, despite the efforts of
several aggressive media outlets.

And in the United States there is suspicion by
some citizens over the weekly economic reports
and other economic indexes prepared by
government agencies.

The Freedom Online Coalition was formed in
2011. The two-day conference will be at the
Hotel Real Intercontinental with full support
from the Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y
Culto, the Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología y
Telecomunicaciones and an organization called
the Digital Defenders Partnership.

President Luis Guillermo Solís is expected to
speak. The theme this year is “Enhancing
an open, active and constructive online
community for the enjoyment of an effective
citizenship online.” But there also are
sessions on addressing hate speech and
harassment online and in using the internet
for social change.

A May critique of the coalition said that
there was the lack of transparency about its
activities, inadequate consequences for
countries not meeting their commitments,

A.M.
Costa Rica graphic

frustration at the ambiguity of the
aims and objectives of the coalition and the few
tangible results that have been produced so far.

That summary
was from the Center for Global Communication
Studies and the Annenberg School for
Communication at the University of Pennsylvania.

Human Rights Watch also has
taken shots at the coalition. When
there were revelations of mass surveillance
by the United States and the United Kingdom,
some of its most active founding members,
two years ago, the organization said that it
is difficult to see that its members will be
able to lead other governments on the path
to freedom and security in the digital realm
if they are not willing to hold themselves
accountable to the principles they lay out
for themselves.

The coalition itself commissioned the independent
evaluation by the Center for Global
Communication Studies that issued its report
in May. “Ultimately, the question for the
coalition is whether it can rise to the
challenge of leading the global
conversations that will drive action and
policy making on internet freedom in an
increasingly complex world,” said the
evaluation.

Two academics at The Ohio State University
issued their evaluation of how internet use
affects democracy in July. They are
Elizabeth Stoycheff and Erik C. Nisbet.

They said that their study sought to show
how the internet does not necessarily serve
as democracy’s magical solution. Instead,
its democratic potential is highly dependent
on how citizens choose to use it.

While some online users join social media
groups that advocate for worthy causes and
read news stories that change their outlook
on the world, others watch Netflix, they
said.

They noted that the United States and other
democracies have invested a lot of time and
resources in promoting internet access,
opposing online censorship and circumventing
firewalls.

Costa Rica also has invested heavily in
providing internet access to poorer homes.

“Ensuring citizens have access to the
internet is not sufficient to ensure
democracy and human rights.” the academics
said. “In fact, internet access may
negatively impact democracy if exploited for
authoritarian gain.”

Meanwhile, David Strecker, a/k/a/ Cuba Dave,
has spent more than a year in preventative
detention here facing an apparently
unconstitutional charge of writing about
Costa Rica and his sexual exploits on the
internet. His trial is next month on an
allegation that he called Costa Rica a sex
tourism destination in his internet blog.
The law is one that was laughed off when it
was passed, and Strecker, an acknowledged
prostitution customer who kisses and tells,
is the only person ever charged.

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A.M.
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Servicio Nacional de
Guardacostas reports a crew
intercepted this Costa
Rican-registered fishing boat,
the Periquito, and
found 826 kilos of
cocaine. They credited help from
the United States, presumably
from U.S. forces at sea in the
Pacific.

Airport runway now satellite
controlled

By the A.M.
Costa Rica staff

Pilotless passenger jets are still way off
in the future, but aircraft landings and
taking offs since Saturday at Juan
Santamaría airport have been directed by
satellite signals.

This is what is called in the United
States the Next Generation control that
replaces the visual and radar that has
been the standard.

The Dirección General de Aviación
Civil said that as of Saturday the
airport will rely exclusively on
satellite location and that this will
increase the efficiency of flight
operations. For example, the agency said
that the distances between aircraft in the
air can be reduced.

The controls apply to the 9,882-foot
Runway 25, the only strip.

The agency said that the new system will
provide greater precision in all
visibility conditions.

The system is being promoted by the
International Air Transport Association
and similar systems are being installed in
other airports worldwide.

Airline sources say that the system will
reduce delays. Basically the aircraft
computers converse with satellite
positioning to keep the aircraft on the
course and glidepath although the pilot
also is at the controls. The efficiency
also is supposed to reduce fuel use and
provide more comfort for passengers.

Weekend murder toll seems to
be 5

By the A.M.
Costa Rica staff

The weekend was a holiday one, but murder
did not take any time off. There were at
least five killings, according to
preliminary police reports.

Three men died by gunfire Friday night in
Aserrí and a woman suffered wounds when a
shootout took place in what investigators
called a bunker, a fortified location for
the sale and consumption of drugs. The
killings took place about 11 p.m, said the
Judicial Investigating Organization.

In Quepos later Saturday afternoon the
victim was a 44-year-old man who may have
been homeless. The knife attack took place
about 3 p.m. in a lot in the center of the
community. A 28-year-old man was detained.

Shortly after noon Sunday a 36-year-old
man died in La Milpa de Heredia when two
gunmen riddled him with nine bullets.

In other incidents, those wounded by
bullets or knives were hospitalized.

Coyote fee for migrants said
to be $1,500

By the A.M.
Costa Rica staff

A man from Paso Canoas de Corredores
will continue in preventative detention
for two more months on a human trafficking
allegation, according to a decision by the
Juzgado Penal de Corredores.

The man, who has the last name of Anis,
was picked up at his home in April.
Investigators said he was charging illegal
immigrants $1,500 each for safe passage
from Panamá to Honduras.

The Policía de Control Fiscal is an agency
of the Ministerio de Hacienda, which
reported that the sweep involved 14
establishments in the area near the border
with Panamá. The proximity with the
country to the south and the porous border
makes it easy to bring in illegal items.

Our reader’s
opinion

Gringos face some
unnecessary burdens

Dear A.M. Costa Rica:

I am not a fish eater, but my girl
is. After a day at the beach she was
dying for fish, so I took her to one of
the most up-scale restaurants in
Guanacaste. I was shocked to see new
management and a menu that had nothing but
seafood. She ordered her meal, and I
had a piña colada. Her grouper
turned out to be shark. Not only
inedible, but unhealthy. When she could
not eat the first bite, she returned it,
and they had no substitute. They also did
not take the price off the bill when we
left.

It is incomprehensible that a country
whose economy is based on tourism (mostly
eco tourism) can openly declare the
torture and killing of animals being
reasonable, much less treating tourists to
shark meat, horse meat and who knows what
else. It seems Costa Rica is now hell-bent
on destroying tourism and running Gringos
to a place where they feel welcome.

As we now pay premium prices for
electricity to compensate for the increase
in fuel costs, for fuel the utility says
it does not burn. As a significant portion
of the GNP goes to paying for the refining
of oil, which we don’t refine. As we
threaten animal rights groups like
Sea Shepherd with jail for trying to
protect our non-renewable animal
resources.

As we sanction the slaughter of animals in
our national parks and jail park rangers
for trying to protect them. As every
visitor to Costa Rica is held
hostage---permitted to leave only after
paying a ransom. As, even after paying the
ransom, people are hauled off planes
like terrorists just because a name
similar to theirs appears on some list.

As fixed-income extranjeros struggle to
get by on rising costs and
artificially-controlled exchange rates,
while now government wants to steal 10
percent of our pensions. As
Transitos hide in the bushes looking for
white faces to write bogus tickets costing
hundreds of dollars.

As government continues to borrow money to
buy/wreck trains that no one wants to
ride. As all government workers
belong to unions, pay no union dues, get
paid their full salary when they decide
not to work and take to the streets to
stall the center of government and deny
basic services (like medicine).

As Costa Rica becomes a criminal
enterprise (where an average price of $38
for a murder contract is universal) and
government reacts by cutting police pay by
15 percent while giving Recope and ICE a
big raise . . . .

Costa Rica is directed down the path of
Venezuela and Brazil.

Alan SeamanBrazilito

News
from the Spanish-language pressTranslated
into English

Costa Rica Report news feeds are disabled on archived pages.

Have you seen
these stories?From A.M. Costa
Rica(Text version is HERE!)

Wherever there is violence, the security ministry seems
to organize a march. This is what happened Saturday in
Limón, the Caribbean port town that was the scene of a
shootout at a beach two weeks ago.

The Security ministry sent an extra 200 officers to the
community to patrol immediately after the shooting, and
there has been some low-level detentions and
confiscations of small amounts of drugs.

The ministry’s Policía de Control de Drogas staged two
raids last week. One was in Siquirres, which technically
is in Limón

Ministerio
de Seguridad Pública photo

President Luis Guillermo Solís wearing a hat is
among those holding the banner.

province.
The other involved four individuals in Villa Plata
deVilla del Mar, Limón Centro. Two sisters were
detained as well as two 17-year-olds who are their
relatives.

This was a neighborhood drug operation. Anti-drug agents
confiscated 73 doses of cocaine, 63 doses of marijuana,
120,000 colons, about $219 and $19 dollars in U.S.
Currency.

The march consisted of participants dressed in white. At
the head of the march was President Luis Guillermo Solís
helping to carry a banner.

The entire Caribbean coast is poverty stricken, even
though it hosts thousands of tourists every year and is
the principal hub for shipping the country’s exports.

A new $1 billion container handling facility is supposed
to interject more money into the economy. The concession
holder, APM Terminals, has promised to channel money
into the province, but most observers agree that endemic
corruption has been a serious impediment to development
and security.

Crime and illegality seems to have existed unmolested
there for years. A.M. Costa Rica recounted
five years ago how an expat and police came under
automatic weapons fire and retreated while trying to
recover a stolen boat. Police withdrew and failed
to respond further.

There also was a case of a private dock constructed on
public property with full knowledge of local officials,
and investigators claimed the dock was used for illegal
drug shipments.

There also has been allegations that some major drug
dealers have been able to avoid court convictions. And
there is no doubt that local judges and even prosecutors
fear the well-armed local drug gangs. Even medical
professionals try to avoid assignments to the area.

The British pound has fallen sharply over the past two
weeks, and is now at record lows against the U.S. dollar,
losing around 20 percent of its value since Britain’s vote
to leave the European Union.

Analysts say the realization that Britain could be headed
for a so-called hard Brexit, likely to involve leaving the
European Union’s Single Market, has triggered a major
sell-off. But the fall in value provides opportunities for
foreign visitors.

For a short time this week, a thick black spread called
Marmite, a British breakfast-time favorite, became the
unlikely first victim of the plunging pound.

Its maker, the giant multinational Unilever, says the drop
has forced up import costs, which it wants to pass on to
retailers.

Tesco, Britain’s biggest supermarket, refused. So Marmite
and several other Unilever products began disappearing
from its shelves.

The dispute was resolved, but currency analyst Kathleen
Brooks of Gain Capital in London says it shows that Brexit
is starting to bite.

“Yes, Marmite might be packaged in the UK or put together
in the UK, but all of the individual ingredients, even
things like the glass, where the label comes from, that’s
all from abroad so they’re having to pay in foreign
currency for that, yet they can only sell it in pounds,”
she said.

“It’s becoming clear that the market does not think
that the outcome of Brexit and the impact of Brexit is
going to be good

A.M. Costa Rica graphic

news for the economy. And a shrinking UK economy means a
weaker pound. Thisis going to erode standards
of living here in the UK, because these are consumer
goods,” Ms. Brooks said.

But some industries are benefiting. Tourism is booming
as foreign visitors find themselves with more pounds in
their pockets, like Derek Hotter from New York.

"Now you come over here knowing it's so much better in our
favor, you feel like you can shop a little bit more,"
Hotter said.

The former head of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, says
Brexit is achieving what policymakers couldn’t.

“During the referendum campaign, someone said ‘the real
danger of Brexit is that we’ll end up with higher interest
rates, lower house prices, and a lower exchange rate.’ And
I thought dream on. Because that’s what we’ve been trying
to achieve for the past three years. And now we have a
chance of getting there,” King said.

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Roughly three weeks before Americans go to the polls,
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is telling
supporters that the election is rigged against him.

Should Trump lose to Democrat Hillary Clinton on Nov. 8,
it remains to be seen whether he would concede or claim
that the election was stolen from him.

If he refuses to deliver a concession speech, Trump would
break with a time-honored tradition in American politics.

Even in 2000, after the most hotly-contested election
result in modern U.S. history, Democrat Al Gore conceded
to Republican George W. Bush once the Supreme Court halted
vote recounts in Florida, handing Bush a minuscule margin
of victory.

“I spoke with George W. Bush and congratulated him on
becoming the 43rd president of the United States,” Gore
said in nationally-televised remarks. “I accept it.”

As is also customary, Gore called for national unity after
a hard-fought and bruising campaign.

“I also accept my responsibility,” Gore said, “to honor
the new president-elect and do everything possible to help
him bring Americans together in fulfillment of the great
vision that our Declaration of Independence defines and
that our Constitution affirms and defends.”

Would Donald Trump be gracious in defeat? Last month, in
the first presidential debate, he said he would accept the
outcome of the election.

"The answer is, if she wins, I will absolutely support
her," Trump said.

His message of recent days has sounded markedly different.

“It is a rigged system, folks,” Trump said Saturday at a
rally in Maine.

Stung by a media firestorm over allegations of sexual
misconduct, fueled by his own words as well as those of
multiple accusers, Trump cast himself as the victim of a
smear campaign to deny him the presidency.

“The election is being rigged by corrupt media pushing
false allegations and outright lies in an effort to elect
Hillary Clinton president,” he said.

In recent weeks, Trump has also issued veiled warnings
about fraud at polling places.

“Go and vote and then check out areas,” he told supporters
in Pennsylvania. “Because a lot of bad things happen. And
we do not want to lose for that reason.”

Democrats see a candidate willing to tear at the threads
of democracy rather than accept responsibility for his own
shortcomings.

“He is blaming the media, he is blaming the GOP,” said the
Democratic vice presidential nominee and Virginia senator,
Tim Kaine, on ABC’s “This Week” program. “He is saying
that America cannot run a fair election. He is swinging at
every phantom of his own imagination because he knows he
is losing.”

But Trump’s backers say he has a point – that the news
media have been more focused on controversies surrounding
Trump than on wave after wave of revelations from
WikiLeaks about Mrs. Clinton’s paid speeches to Wall
Street and what are believed to be email communications
within her campaign.

“This election is being rigged by the national media, who
are doing everything they can to suppress bad news about
Hillary, and everything to maximize bad news about Trump,”
said former House speaker Newt Gingrich, also on ABC.

Agitation runs high among some of Trump’s most ardent
supporters, as his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence,
discovered at a recent campaign stop.

“If Hillary Clinton gets in, I myself am ready for a
revolution,” one rally attendee said in a
question-and-answer session with Pence.

Some Republican leaders are uncomfortable with Trump’s
latest line of attack. A spokeswoman for House Speaker
Paul Ryan issued a statement saying, “Our democracy relies
on confidence in election results, and the speaker is
fully confident the states will carry out this election
with integrity.”

Mrs. Clinton’s secret speeches
show closeness to Wall Street

By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services

WikiLeaks Saturday released full transcripts of three
speeches Hillary Clinton gave to Goldman Sachs executives
in 2013, along with comments by her presidential campaign
staffers about how to handle challenging issues.

Wikileaks has been releasing material hacked from the
email account of her campaign manager, John Podesta, for
the past week.

According to the emails, her staffers noted potential
problems, including her statement to bank executives that
political reasons factored into passing a law on bank
reforms, and Mrs. Clinton's flattering her audience by
saying people in the banking industry know regulation
issues better than anyone else.

Mrs. Clinton has been dogged by accusations from her rival
for the Democratic presidential nomination, Sen. Bernie
Sanders of Vermont, and other critics that she is too
close to Wall Street and other members of the financial
elite.

Another email contained suggestions about how she could
align herself more favorably with the working class by
spending a day working alongside hotel maids or child-care
workers. A key Clinton ally, former Michigan governor
Jennifer Granholm, suggested the idea to a Clinton aide,
saying, "Our base would go wild for it."

Meanwhile, Republican candidate Donald Trump suggested
Saturday that Mrs. Clinton might have been on drugs at the
last debate and that both candidates should undergo drug
testing before Wednesday's final match.

"We're like athletes, right?" Trump said to his audience
at a rally in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. "I'm willing to
do it."

Trump has said repeatedly that Clinton should be jailed
for her use of a private email server while she was
secretary of State. After an investigation, FBI Director
James Comey announced in July that charges against Clinton
were not appropriate.

Trump's latest comments came one day after two more women
alleged that the real estate mogul made unwanted sexual
advances toward them.

A contestant on Trump's television show, "The Apprentice,"
told reporters Friday that the businessman kissed and
grabbed her at a hotel where she had gone to discuss
potential jobs. The contestant, Summer Zervos, was a
contestant on the show in 2006.

In an article published Friday by The Washington Post,
Kristin Anderson said Trump slid his fingers under her
skirt and touched her genitals through her underwear in a
New York nightclub in the early 1990s.

The 46-year-old resident of Southern California said she
pushed his hand away and got up from the couch on which
she was sitting. Anderson said she and her companions were
"very grossed out" by the incident, which she said lasted
less than 30 seconds.

Ms. Anderson said she was reluctant to tell her story
publicly, but was convinced she should do so after The New
York Times, The Palm Beach Post in Florida and People
Magazine published accounts earlier this week of women who
said they had been groped by Trump.

Mrs. Clinton was spending the weekend in New York
preparing for the October 19 debate, but her campaign is
launching an initiative to capitalize on Trump's
unpopularity among some women voters.

In this homestretch of the presidential race, Mrs. Clinton
has extended her lead over Trump in national polls. The
RealClearPolitics national average shows Clinton leading
Trump by nearly 7 percentage points (48.1 to 41.4) in a
two-way race.

Putin denies claims Russia
will interfere with U.S. voting

By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services

Russian President Vladimir Putin is dismissing the latest
U.S. claims that the Kremlin has directed cyberattacks
against Washington, as well as scoffing at U.S. threats to
retaliate for any Russian attempts to interfere in
upcoming U.S. elections.

Putin spoke Sunday in India at a televised news
conference, calling the hacking allegations an effort to
distract Americans from lots of problems facing their
country.

Putin's comments come less than two days after U.S. Vice
President Joe Biden warned that "we are sending a message"
to Putin. He told NBC news on Friday that U.S. retaliation
for Russian cyberattacks "will be at the time of our
choosing, and under circumstances that will have the
greatest impact."

"You can expect anything from our American friends," Putin
said Sunday. He also claimed it is already widely known
that "official bodies in the United States are spying and
eavesdropping on everyone."

Putin's latest comments also follow a joint U.S. statement
Oct. 7 in which the U.S. director of National Intelligence
and the chief of the Department of Homeland Security
formally accused Moscow of hacking U.S. political
organizations.

Those accusations referenced hacking into internal email
accounts at the Democratic National Committee, and further
accused Moscow of orchestrating the release of information
in the hacked accounts through the rogue anti-secrecy
group WikiLeaks.

Sunday Putin said, "I would like to reassure everyone,
including our U.S. partners and friends: We do not intend
to influence the U.S. election campaign."

The Kremlin was first linked to U.S. political hacking in
July, after the campaign staff of Democratic presidential
candidate Hillary Clinton accused Moscow of hacking emails
from the Democratic National Committee.

Many Western analysts and pundits have since accused the
Kremlin of favoring Republican candidate Donald Trump in
the November elections, and point to Trump's repeated
comments praising Putin and calling for closer bilateral
ties. Other sources say the hacking comes from U.S.
Intelligence agencies that fear Hillary Clinton’s lack of
responsibility with confidential and classified documents.

Third missile attack reported
against U.S. Navy off Yemen

By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services

A top U.S. admiral says a U.S. warship has again come
under fire in the Red Sea from multiple cruise missiles
fired from the coast of Yemen.

The chief of naval operations, Adm. John Richardson, said
the guided missile destroyer USS Mason deployed electronic
countermeasures to foil the attack and was not hit in
Saturday’s incident, the third such attack on U.S. naval
vessels in the area in the past week.

U.S. authorities say neither the Mason nor the amphibious
transport USS Ponce was hit in the Oct. 9 attacks, and say
the Mason and another U.S. vessel were unscathed by
further missile fire on Wednesday.

Saturday, the Web site Military.com said Richardson,
speaking at a ship commissioning in the port city of
Baltimore, offered few details of the latest attack and
did not say how many missiles were fired.

The Oct. 9 attack on the Mason and the amphibious
transport USS Ponce, and Wednesday’s failed attacks
prompted a retaliatory barrage of missiles from another
warship, the USS Nitze on Thursday. Those U.S. strikes
targeted three radar sites in Yemen territory controlled
by Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

Thursday, Iran deployed two warships to the Red Sea, but
insisted the move was aimed at preventing piracy in the
vital shipping lanes.

The U.S. military has been providing intelligence and
logistics to Saudi-led coalition warplanes, which began
targeting rebel Houthi positions inside Yemen earlier this
year.

New technology lets scientists
tackle old sea monster fossil

By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services

Scientists are studying the skeleton of an ancient sea
monster. It was discovered in Scotland 50 years ago, but
it wasn’t until more recently, using modern fossil
extraction methods, that the bones could be pulled out of
hard rock. The previously unknown reptile lived in the
oceans during the time of the dinosaurs.

The bones of the sea monster are 170 million years old and
were discovered in Scotland’s Isle of Skye.
Paleontologists are excited by the almost-complete
skeleton.

“There’s over 100 bones there, so a whole bunch of the
skeleton, and now we get to get down to the fun business
of actually studying it, figuring out what it is,” said
Stephen Brusatte, a paleontologist at the University of
Edinburgh.

What the scientists do know is that the sea monster is
more than 4 meters long. It is from a class of ancient
marine creatures called ichthyosaurs, which resembled
dolphins. The reptile could swim fast, and with its
hundreds of cone-shaped teeth, fed on fish and squid.

The scientists hope to gain a better understanding about
the creature’s ecosystem and more about the Middle
Jurassic period that lasted from about 160 to 180 million
years ago. Since so few fossils have been discovered from
that age, the sea monster is a spectacular find.

"It’s one of the only good skeletons of one of these ocean
reptiles from the middle part of the Jurassic Period. This
was a time that was a really interesting moment in
evolution. You had all kinds of new groups of dinosaurs
and ocean reptiles getting their start, starting to spread
around the world,” said Brusatte.

Like other ichthyosaurs, this sea monster faded into
extinction 95 million years ago, about 30 million years
before the dinosaurs disappeared.

“It looks like it was changes in the oceans, in the
chemistry and in the ecology of the oceans, and so you had
a long-term willowing away of these ichthyosaurs as they
became less and less common, less and less diverse, until
they trickled away to extinction, and then that is when
groups like sharks and ultimately whales and dolphins
moved on in," said the paleontologist.

Sea monsters have often captured people’s imaginations.
The skeleton of this one will eventually be put on display
for the public to see.

European Space Agency says
Mars lander begins its descent

By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services

The European Space Agency’s experimental probe is
expected to land Wednesday on Mars, as part of a mission
aimed at exploring the red planet's atmosphere and
searching for signs of life.

Flight director Michel Denis confirmed the Schiaparelli
Mars lander had separated from its mother ship as
scheduled Sunday to applause at mission control center in
Darmstadt, Germany.

As planned, the 600-kilogram probe separated from an
unmanned craft called the Trace Gas Orbiter after a
seven-month, 496-million-kilometer flight from Earth.

The space agency said Schiaparelli will enter the
atmosphere Wednesday at a speed of nearly 21,000
kilometers per hour, before being slowed by atmospheric
drag and then deploying a parachute and thrusters.

Schiaparelli will take images of Mars and conduct
scientific measurements on the surface, but its main
purpose is to test technology for a future European Mars
rover.

Shipping
Containers and homes for sale. New 20-foot containers and 40-foot
available. Call us at 8307-8666 or
visit www.containerhomes.net
Stop by our workshop and walk through
our model home in San Ramón.

9088-11/13/16

SellATimeshare.comBrowse timeshares for sale and rent
by owner in Costa Rica at bargain
prices. We connect existing timeshare
owners with those looking to buy or
rent a timeshare on the resale market.
Timeshares on the resale market are up
to 50% cheaper than those sold through
the resort. Buy, sell or rent a
timeshare at SellATimeshare.com.

9004-4/26/17

COSTA RICA
SOLARNOW
with the New Power Company
Regulations, we're installing photo
voltaic systems for solar electricity.
PV systems: we use Enphase
micro-inverters. More flexible. Add
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NOW is
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your electric bill.

More Watts per Panel,
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Inverters mean Less Cost and more
Flexibility for You.

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The experts in buying
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more than 20 years experience and the
largest networked team of agents in
the country. We can help you
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8927-1/28/17

If you are looking for information on
condos, homes, lots, commercial real
estate or development properties our
award-winning team of professional
agents are ready to help you buying
property in Costa Rica. We have
over 18 years of experience to educate
our buyers in all aspects of purchasing
property. Call us or email us today for
more information on how to purchase that
perfect piece of Costa
Rica Real Estate.

Rich
Coast RealtyREDUCED by $30k! Three-bedroom
furnished house in gated beach
community, walk to the beach, $235k.
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into four view lots, 10 minutes from
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beach in Herradura, $199k.
Contact us with any questions you have
about buying property in Costa Rica,
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Have a property for sale in the
Central or South Pacific, or in
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We get results.

Mountain
home w/million dollar view near San
Ramón
Beautiful home in the mountains near San
Ramón with 180-degree view of the gulf
of Nicoya. 7 miles from San Ramón, 1
mile from Interamericana highway. 3,200
foot elevation so temp is 65 to 75 year
around. Electric gate, private drive.
house built in 2010. 2 bedrooms, 1 bath,
appliances included. High-speed internet
installed, Price for sale
$179,000 Contact Mike:
mmpeace@hotmail.com
Check out slide show HERE!

9070-12/5/16

For
sale 5,200 m2 Escazú

Fantastic
location for condo, hotel, restaurant.
Large lower lot, incredible views.
Flexible zoning. Easy to get liquor
license. Low interest financing. Up to
40% financing / get residency through
investor status / includes a corporation
that is 27 years old and offshore
banking account with Banco
National / possible 50/50 partnership.
Super location in front of the Bosques
de Escazú Condos / Monthly
rentals availablewww.hotel4salecostarica.comwww.hotelsescazu.comhotelescazu@aol.com
Call for more info:
Free US phone 877-778-8515 or
410-975-6703
In Costa Rica 506- 8307-0164

Jacó
Beach - Super Views - Priced Right
This is a three-bedroom, ine-bath home
located at about 100-foot elevation one
mile from the beach. Remodeled 2 years
ago. Everything is new including total
new kitchen, windows, floors, AC units,
electric, plumbing, etc. Super fenced
yard for dogs. Very low electric bill
even with the AC. Very secure &
private. Police chief next door. Very
easy & inexpensive to expand this
house as all neighbors have done.
$149,900. Call Glenn at 506 6214-0056.

9060-11/3/16

Costa Rica
penthouse for sale
5 -story penthouse for sale.
One of a kind penthouse on top of the
Corobici Hotel in Sabana overlooking the
Central Park and new Soccer Stadium in
San José. Excellent location
provides you easy access to
everywhere. Other benefits include
24-hour security, 2 restaurants inside
the hotel providing 1st class room
service plus shared common areas in the
hotel. Commercial license is in place.
Seller will consider owner
financing. Asking $795K U.S.
Also available for monthly rent for
$3,400 per month on an annual basis. Go
to www.ThePenthouseCostaRica.com
Owners U.S. cell phone: 813
310-7402 Email crstratton@ymail.com

9017-12/1/16

Spectacular
Horse Ranch and Spiritual/Yoga Retreat Center For Sale

We invite you to a horseback tour of 187
acres of pristine farm land with
breathtaking vistas, including the islands
of the Gulf of Nicoya. There are multiple
springs and streams, wooded areas,
hard-wood and fruit trees, rolling hills
with a geat variety of birds and wildlife.
This property boasts the privilege of
being bordered by thousands of acres of
forest preserve down a steep canyon,
offering its own spectacular views, which
will never be developed. The many hills
provide a builder an endless array of
possibilities for nestling buildings in
where they will have both views and
privacy. The elevation of the property at
1,200 to1600 feet above sea level ensures
fresh breezes and ideal year-round
temperatures with a day-time average in
the low 80's for open-air living. There is
a ranch-style house with guest house with
8 total bedrooms, 5 modern baths, huge
eat-in kitchen, landmark palm-thatched
giant rancho, stable, and storage
buildings. The home will come partially
furnished, including beds, ample dishware
for large groups, housewares, linens,
washer/dryer, and fine hard-wood
hand-built cabinetry. The remaining
horses, 4 to 6 of them, will also convey
if one wishes. We are also including a
LARGE BEACH LOT in nearby Playa Bejuco.
San Rafael de Nandayure is a tiny rural
village nestled into the mountainside
above Carmona with all the charms of the
simple good life of a BLUE ZONE. Carmona
is a thriving town with a clinic,
restaurfants, shopping, and everything
else one may need. More information
go to www.ranchforsalecostarica.com
Call Darin Ricco, phone +619-846-8249 or
email: darin_ricco@hotmail.com

Business
for
sale
or lease (paid
category)Live the dream!
Several profitable businesses, including a
regional radio station, are for sale in Costa
Rica. Certain purchases can provide the new owner
with residency as well as a great lifestyle. So
live your dream while making a profit. Contact: manager@crbusiness.biz.

I really need deeper pockets. Not in the way people
usually think of it as “I need more money,” but I really
need pockets that are deeper.

You see, I have done it again. I have misplaced – okay
I have lost – one of

my best
pairs of clippers. It probably is not completely
lost. It’s just out in the garden somewhere. I was
in the orchid garden doing a little pruning,
clipping and cutting back when they just slipped
out of my pocket.

Now, I know that I have talked about putting
bright orange tape on your tools so
that you don’t lose

them when they slip out of your pocket, but I ran out
of bright orange tape because I have a lot of tools.

It’s really my own fault. I should have stayed with one
job. The thing that I went out to do was simply to snip
dead pieces from the orchids and the ferns, prune back a
few things and come back inside.

Naturally when I got outside, I discovered some things
needed to be moved. Some needed to be transplanted from
shade to the sun or sun to shade.

So I ran for my shovel forgetting that I still had the
pruners in my pocket.

Yes, I am scatterbrained. Yes, I need a better system. On
the plus side, I have some beautiful bright yellow tags
for my plants, and I have even written on them. But they
sit on my desk. Someday I’ll remember to take them out and
tag the plants with them.

That tagging part is frustrating as well, see, I have
written the names on the tags but I forget which plants
the tags belong to. Remember me being scatterbrained? I
will sort all that out later, I promise.

Here, I suppose, is the dilemma. I don’t like desk work. I
want to be outside in the fresh air and sunshine or even
the rain, not inside making a catalog of what I have,
where it is, and what its tag name is.

It’s a dilemma a lot of gardeners face. The only catalog
we want is the one that comes once a year from Burpee that
shows what seeds and plants are available for the
up-coming season, but even that pleasure is denied those
of us who live in Costa Rica. The catalog may be online,
but Burpee does not ship to Costa Rica.

Frustrating, isn’t it?

Plant for the Week

Here is a nice little volunteer that came up near
the house, Senna undulata, locally siete
cueros. It appears to be native to Costa
Rica and might be a good addition to the garden
although it does grow to five meters (18 feet or
so). Our volunteer is in full sun and terrible
soil but is doing well. Since it produces seed
pods, it is likely to spread but the yellow
flowers are refreshing.

A.M. Costa
Rica/Victoria Torley

If you would like to
suggest a topic for this column, simply send a
letter to the editor. And, for more garden
tips, visit HERE!

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contents
of
this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río
Colorado S.A. 2016 and may not be reproduced anywhere
without permission.Abstracts
and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details

From Page 7:

United experiences, fixes computer
problem

By the A.M. Costa Rica
wire services

United Airlines has suffered an hours-long problem
with its computer systems that resulted in delays
and cancellations globally.

Passengers traveling late Thursday and early
Friday took to social media to complain about
delays as long as six hours.

United posted a statement on its Twitter account
saying "we're aware of an issue with our system
& are working to resolve it." By 3 a.m. EDT,
United officials claimed to have fixed it and said
delayed flights were resuming.

Flight tracking service FlightStats showed 20
United flights were delayed and seven canceled
worldwide by European morning hours.

Other U.S. airlines have experienced recent
disruptions because of computer system outages. In
July, Southwest Airlines blamed a faulty network
router for an outage that led to the cancellation
of over 2,000 flights. In August, Delta canceled
at least 450 flights worldwide because of a
computer problem.